The Truth : Do We Eat Before or After a Workout?

So there are so many mixed messages when it comes to eating and training. I sometimes feel like its a bit of a contradiction some say eat something before and some say no way eat after. I have been eating before because I am a foodie and feel if I have to train on a empty stomach how will I survive??? But then I eat again when I come home because I am starving. One of the guy models from my shoot told me this week don’t eat before you train because your body burns the stored fat. That actually sounded pretty reasonable. So I decided to give it a go.

Now for someone like me who is starving from the moment I wake up I was freaking out a little. Apparently drinking coffee before really helps burn the fat but I can’t stand coffee. So water and green tea (sounds awful I know). I thought maybe sneak in an apple before sweat 1000 but my mum who is here from overseas told me no way. OK so now I am in my car stuck in some traffic and I am really starving now and having visions of passing out on the treadmill. So I keep drinking my water in the hope that this will help. I start the class and all I can think of is food. Surprisingly after 20 mins in I actually feel OK and I am still standing. I feel lighter and I get a great workout in. I do race out the class to get home and eat but I did it and was pretty proud of myself.

After training we are told eat your carbs and protein so thats what I have done plus thrown in an apple as well to keep me going till lunch. I think the point of not eating before a workout is to change our habits and shock or trick our bodies. So many people believe that you burn more fat if you don’t eat but is that true? I did have enough energy to power through but maybe not everyone will be able to?

The other side is you have to eat before at least 3 hours before you train. But what happens when you train early in the morning? No way am I getting up at 4 or 5am to eat unless I have to be up for a shoot. So where does that leave me?

I have been eating before woking out and it seems to only makes me hungrier. Maybe a protein shake or a carbohydrate that is slow burning? What to do?

If you are in the same predicament drop me a message on what works best for you.